Writing in a personal capacity to share views, information and resources for teachers, trade unionists and campaigners in London - and beyond!

Tuesday, 10 September 2013

Yes, Michael Gove, "unbearable"

Now that
I know that Michael Gove, or one of his civil servants, is following my blog, then
let me be clear: " No Minister, I’m not guilty of 'hyperbole', your ‘reforms’
will make teaching 'unbearable'. "

If you're not Michael Gove, let me explain ...

It was only today, when a colleague pointed me to the transcript of Michael Gove’s speech
to the Policy Exchange last Thursday, that I discovered that I merited a personal
mention by the Education Secretary!

Gove
scoffed that “Martin Powell-Davies of the National Union of Teachers National
Executive has claimed that our education reform plans will make teaching ‘a
totally unbearable profession’.” However, many
teachers would agree that there’s nothing to scoff at in my prediction.

Being
accused of ‘hyperbole’ by an ex-journalist is also a little rich. True to his roots,
the Education Secretary also chose to be very selective in the facts he quoted
to try and portray teachers as a contented profession.

Surveys of ‘school leaders’
and undergraduates will obviously not give a true picture of the feelings of
classroom teachers. A more
accurate picture was painted by a YouGov survey of teachers taken at the beginning of
this year:

As you can see, 55% of respondents described their morale as “low” or “very low”,
only 15% had 'high' or 'very high' morale. In further questions, 71% said they 'rarely' or 'never' felt
trusted by the Government.

At the end
of the survey, teachers were asked to give an open ended answer to the question
"what other New Year’s Resolution would you like the Secretary of State
for Education to make?". Not surprisingly,
the NUT reports that most popular response by a long way was “I will
resign or something very similar"!

Yet this was the very post where Gove’s researcher must have found my quote that
“this is what teaching is already like in many schools before Gove tightens the
screw of performance-pay even further. If he gets away with his plans, teaching
will become a totally unbearable profession”. Strangely, the researcher was happy to ignore
the evidence on which my conclusion was based!

I’m pleased
that it seems to have dawned on Michael Gove that he needs to try and sound a
little less anti-teacher and to try to praise our qualities in his speech. However, the
damage has already been done*.

Neither
do teachers need lectures to know about ‘the importance of teaching’. We know
how important education is to the youngsters that we teach. That's why
we are so determined to defend education from the damage being inflicted by
this Government’s policies of privatisation, cuts and rationing of educational
opportunities.

Whatever ‘our
surveys say’, the real test of teachers’ views will come in October when the
NUT and NASUWT have called the next regional strikes. As in the North-West in
June, I suggest that the overwhelming response to the strike-call will show Mr.Gove just how out of teach he is with the real mood of teachers.

Of
course, those strikes will be a test of public opinion as well. Once again,
Mr.Gove may be in for a surprise. For example, following the announcement of
our latest action last week, the Coventry Telegraph carried a banner headline “Teachers:
We Will Shut Every School”. Gove might have hoped that such a threat would be
met with parental protest – but the 'vox-pops' inside the paper reveal where any
public protests will be directed:

Janet
Smith, 65, Keresley: “I don’t think it’s fair to link teachers’ pay to
performance in the classroom. You can’t really say how a child is going to
react, can you?"

Jacob
Peedell, 30, Radford: “If you are teaching in a deprived area, the kids aren’t
going to do as well so I think that’s unfair. Obviously striking isn’t fair on
the parents but I can understand why they are doing it!"

Elena
Klink, 30, Whoberley, “Striking is the right thing to do because it’s the way
for them to get what they need. I know how hard it is for the teachers to look
after the kids”.

Those
kind of views will be repeated in towns and cities across England. They should give
teachers encouragement to make their real views clear to Mr.Gove - by taking strike action to oppose his damaging attacks on teachers and education.

* ... and Mr.Gove has just done more damage to his public image by his crass comments about food banks. Perhaps you're suggesting that, if teachers taught school leavers better financial management,
they'd all be able to afford £7,000 furnishings like you Michael ?!

Martin Powell-Davies

* Brought up as a socialist by parents who hungered for what is right * One adopted grandfather left me a double-barrelled name, the other his name on a 1926 General Strike black-list * Joined the Labour Party as a teenager, left it when it abandoned the values and traditions of so many who built it in the past * Given a comprehensive education at St.Andrew's, Leatherhead * First-class degree from King's College, Cambridge, for those who like that kind of thing * Secondary science teacher in London 1986-2015 * Lewisham NUT Secretary 1993-2015, organiser of many campaigns to defend teachers and education * Living in Sydenham since 1997, father of four who were all so well-supported by Sedgehill School * Member of the NUT National Executive 2010-15 * NUT London Regional Secretary 2016 - * Proud to have been name-checked by Gove for saying that his 'reforms' could make teaching unbearable * Member of the CWI, following its global struggles via http://www.socialistworld.net * Candidate for TUSC in Lewisham West & Penge, 2015 * Member of Penge CC, often a 'Middle Aged Man In Lycra' on Sundays